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Australia has an ocean territory twice the size of our land. Our oceans are the third-largest and most diverse on the planet.

Just off our shores we have the largest single reef − the Great Barrier Reef − and the largest seagrass meadow (Shark Bay, Western Australia) on the planet. We also have the third-largest area of mangroves and more than half of the world’s mangrove and seagrass species.

Our oceans provide refuge for a diversity of species including:

six of the seven known species of marine turtles,

45 of the world’s 78 whale and dolphin species, and

4,000 fish species — 20 per cent of the global total.

Marine parks are an important in the toolbox of ocean conservation – helping reduce stress on marine ecosystems.

As well as establishing networks of marine parks we need to ensure that we tread lightly on our oceans. We need to reduce land-based pollution, have sustainable fisheries and take action to address climate pollution.

What we’ve achieved

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

AMCS spearheaded the public campaign to protect our Great Barrier Reef in a marine park in 1974, and gain greater recognition as a World Heritage Area in 1982.

AMCS spearheaded the public campaign to protect our Great Barrier Reef in a marine park in 1974, and gain greater recognition as a World Heritage Area in 1982.

Working with our conservation partners, AMCS secured the public support that led to full protection of 33.4% of the Reef in 'green zones' in 2004.

National Network of Marine Parks

AMCS and ocean lovers across Australia campaigned for the largest network of marine parks in the world, announced in June 2012.

AMCS and ocean lovers across Australia campaigned for the largest network of marine parks in the world, announced in June 2012.

The proposals would have created the world’s largest marine sanctuary in the Coral Sea, but it is now under threat.

Almost 40 million hectares of marine sanctuaries — an area almost twice the size of Victoria — were lost. We must fight to restore our historic network of marine parks.
Help us protect our special places for generations to come.

How Marine Parks Protect Our Oceans

Anyone can enter marine sanctuaries and enjoy activities like boating, swimming, snorkelling and diving — but wildlife and their habitats are fully protected from extractive industries such as fishing and oil and gas exploration. They are places where sea life is safe and people can see nature at its best.

Marine sanctuary zones are vital for the protection of the ocean's rich diversity of life. They allow fish to spawn and grow, provide unspoilt natural sites where people can visit and offer areas for education and research. Marine sanctuaries offer a way to protect our unique, vulnerable marine life such as turtles, sharks and dugongs and the habitats on which they depend.

The equation is simple — if you leave fish to breed and replenish, over time there will be greater numbers of bigger fish. It’s been proven: just two years after the sanctuary zones were expanded on the Great Barrier Reef in 2004, scientists found that Coral Trout had increased by 60% in the protected areas.

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